Capital and Labor by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 23, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 12.

Capital and Labor.

By Editor

As commodities both capital and labor are necessary to the world's need, and there should be no antagonism between them. "Useless each without the other," in a general sense they are. But between capitalists and laborers there has ever been an irrepressible conflict. This has ever waged more fiercely when both parties to the struggle have been organized, as at the present. In the matter of organization one class has the same right as the other, and no more. If an individual manufacturer wishes to sink his individuality in a combination of manufacturers,—in a capitalist trust,—he can do so; and if a working man wishes to sink his individuality in a trade-union,—a labor trust,—he can do that. But when the trust wishes to compel or coerce the small manufacturer to enter the trust or be "frozen out" of business, the trust becomes a tyrant. It is equally true that when the union seeks to coerce or compel the non-union men to join the union or starve, unionism becomes a tyranny. And God sanctions tyranny nowhere; and He has told us that in our dealings with both poor and rich, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor." Lev. 19:15. See Ex. 23:3. "The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all." The soul of the rich man is as precious in the sight of God as that of a poor man, and the reverse is also true. As men we long for the salvation of them both; but we have no sympathy with the oppression of trust or union. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that these two tyrannies in more than one case combine together to destroy and crush the poorer consumers and the non-union laborers. In both cases prosperity seems for a time to follow, but sooner or later the collapse comes. "Business" men have argued for trusts, and pointed to the great "prosperity" of the country, but it is prosperity for a class, not the whole, and the inflated values sooner or later collapse and burst, and thousands are ruined.

Likewise some of the trades-union have demanded and secured abnormal wages; this has created unnatural conditions, fomented disorder in other trades, unbalanced manufactures, especially in building trades, increased strikes, boycotts, and lockouts, and driven the employees and consumers to counter organizations. And there the country stands to-day, with some lines of trade, in various localities, paralyzed. The writer spoke to a well-known local contractor the other day as to the building trade. He said that he had placed bids on a $100,000-worth of work recently, but not a job of it could be done. The people will not build unless the builder will contract to finish by a certain time, and the contractor will not agree to do this without a strike proviso. His work may be stopped in a half dozen ways through no fault of his. Men are idle, families are destitute, and the combinations on both sides to cure moral evils are at fault. The Golden Rule would cure it all; but neither party to the strife knows it in spirit. We pity them one and both and all. But we can indorse neither trust. Both are non-Christian, with purely selfish bases. For the men we have great longing; for the systems we have no sympathy whatsoever. We could not have, and retain our Christianity. There is a better way, but the natural heart does not love it; it is the way of the cross. Nevertheless, at the end of that way lies the everlasting life and glory.